Kurtoskalacs
Hungarian chimney cake of sweet yeast dough wound round a roller, rolled in sugar and baked for 25 minutes until caramelised.
Photograph credit: Kürtőskalács2011 (image of kürtőskalács on Wikidata Q1688949) by Cyril5555 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
Most home chimney cakes come out dry, and the fix is a soft dough and a caramel of sugar and butter. Kürtőskalács, the chimney cake, is a hollow cylinder of sweet yeast dough that is rolled in sugar and baked on a spit until the sugar melts into a crisp, shiny, mahogany shell. It is Transylvanian in origin and sold at every fair.
The dough is flour, milk, eggs, butter, sugar and yeast, kneaded for 10 minutes and left to rise for 1 hour. Roll it out into a long strip about 1 cm thick and cut a ribbon 2 cm wide. Wrap the ribbon around a buttered cylinder, such as a rolling pin wrapped in foil, overlapping the edges, with the ends supported on two tins. Press the dough to join the layers.
Brush with melted butter and roll in a plate of sugar and cinnamon, then bake at 200°C / 390°F for 25 minutes, turning every 5 minutes and brushing with more butter. The sugar caramelises into a hard crust. Slide the cake off the roller while hot and roll it in more sugar or ground nuts. Eat warm, pulling off strips of the soft, spiralled dough.
What People Ask
How long does Kurtoskalacs take to make?
40 minutes of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking, plus 1 hour of Rising, so allow 2 hours 5 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 8.
The Method for Kurtoskalacs
Tap a step to highlight it, or turn on Cook Mode for large type and step-by-step focus.
-
Mix the flour, yeast, 80 g sugar, salt, milk, eggs and softened butter and knead for 10 minutes. Leave to rise for 1 hour.
-
Roll the dough 1 cm thick and cut a ribbon 2 cm wide and 3 metres long, in pieces if needed.
-
Wrap the ribbon around a foil covered, buttered rolling pin, overlapping the edges. Brush with butter and roll in the sugar and cinnamon.
-
Heat the oven to 200°C / 390°F. Set the pin across two tins and bake for 25 minutes, turning every 5 minutes and brushing with butter.
-
Slide off the roller while hot and roll in the remaining sugar.
Tips That Matter
- Overlap the edges so the layers join.
- Turn and brush with butter often.
- Eat while warm.
Pairs Well With
Coffee · Hot chocolate · Vanilla ice cream
Leftovers and Storage
Best the day it is made.
Kurtoskalacs Nutrition Facts
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
Cooked this? Keep a note for next time
Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked.
First published ; last changed .
You Might Also Like
More Hungarian cooking and baking ideas from Weekly Delight.
Medialunas
Small, sweet, flaky crescent rolls, glazed with sugar syrup. The Argentine breakfast pastry, eaten with coffee at…
Nai Wong Bao
Snow-white steamed buns filled with a set custard of egg yolk, butter and milk powder. The filling is made and…
Paczki
Rich, round Polish doughnuts filled with rose petal jam, cooked in hot oil and finished with a dusting of icing sugar.
Pampushky (Ukrainian Garlic Buns)
Soft, golden yeast buns, baked until puffy and brushed while hot with a garlic, dill and oil dressing. Ukraine's…
Pineapple Bun
A soft milk bun under a crackled sweet crust that splits into a pattern in the oven. No pineapple in it anywhere.
Samoan Pani Popo
Soft yeasted buns baked in a sweet coconut cream sauce until the cream has soaked in and the tops are glossy and…